Board and Train: Storm, Day 5

Since arriving four days ago, Storm has made significant progress in the following areas:

On arrival:

— not house-broken
— not alerting clearly
— pulling hard and weaving on leash, chomping on leash
— no stamina, no patience
— slow to recall, no recall at all when distracted
— unable to maintain a sit-stay or down-stay position
— overly excited and intense around Glimmer and Violet
— inappropriate chewing [clothing, shoes, etc.]
— mouthing, nipping/biting
— little to no eye contact/focus
— intermittent obedience to “bed”
— anxiety with kennel

As of Day 4:

— 99% housebroken
— learning to alert more clearly by scratching and barking at the door
— very little pulling on the leash, no weaving, chews at leash only when tired and/or frustrated
— stamina and patience improved by 50%
— 70% improvement with recall when distracted, following more quickly without being called
— 50% improvement with sit-stay and down-stay, still needs work on holding position until released
— 60% improvement in controlling excitement around Glimmer and Violet
— 60% improvement with inappropriate chewing: goes after clothing, shoes, etc. only when bored
— 90% improvement with mouthing, nipping/biting: presents only when overly excited, frustrated, or bored
— 99% improvement with eye contact/focus: offers and holds eye contact almost constantly
— 99% improvement with “bed”
— 99% improvement with kennel: still reluctant to go in it during the day, but has no problem going in at bedtime and sleeping through the night without crying.

Challenge Areas as of Day 4:

Distance, position duration [sit-stay, down-stay], distractions, jumping and mouthing when overly excited. Storm has been making huge progress in all areas of her training, but her ability to deal calmly with distractions, look to her handler [in this case, me] for direction, and control her impulses and excitement still needs a lot of work. However, Storm is still a puppy; for a puppy, life is all about playing and exploring the world. None the less, Storm is 5 months old now, and she must learn and accept that life has rules, and that being part of a family means following those rules and abiding by the boundaries and limitations that are put in place. This is as much for her safety, well-being, and happiness as it is for her family.

For Day 5, we are going to focus on distance and position duration with distractions, as well as walking nicely on the leash with another dog [Glimmer]. Because she wasn’t ready for the challenge before now, today will be her first time walking with another dog.